Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jan hobbel who wrote (3024)	3/6/1999 10:09:00 AM
From: MikeM54321	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Re: xDSL Thread, Thanks for all the responses to my DSL questions from everyone. It's even more complicated than it appears (at least to me). It's hard to figure out who/what is the xDSL technology of choice. Then an investor needs to decide what equipment companies will benefit when xDSL becomes mainstream. And the final confusion comes from who will be deploying it. A RBOC, ILEC, CLEC, or ISP. Lot's of complications and no standards. Now I understand why Compaq and Microsoft got together and just said, "We are putting these DSL-Lite (G.LITE) modems in. We standardized it and we paid for it. Now you telephone people do your part." But as far as I can tell, no phone company has really responded in force? Sounds like that could even have been a waste of money for Compaq and the consumer if the phone companies don't latch on. Any news on this? BTW, I found the fairly easy to read tutorial below that explains one of the xDSL alternatives, ADSL. Thanks, MikeM(From Florida) --------------------------------- The ADSL Advantage? Another access technology--and one that stands as a high-speed rival to ISDN--is ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line). It offers several times the bandwidth over existing copper wire. The technology was originally meant to be used by telephone companies for delivering video over telephone lines, making them more competitive with cable operators. But as interest in the 'Net has grown, it's come to be seen as a viable access method--even if it has yet to establish itself. Unlike ISDN, ADSL doesn't require an upgrade of central-office switches; instead, separate ADSL modems are placed at the central office. It also works over an ordinary pair of phone wires, which means that analog phones can be used while maintaining a high-speed data connection at the same time. Here's how it works: ADSL supplies three separate frequency channels over the same line. One channel carries telephone conversations, and another carries a 16- to 640-kbit/s data signal upstream from a user to the Internet. The third channel is a high-speed downstream connection running anywhere from T1 (1.544 Mbit/s) to 9 Mbit/s. Despite the bandwidth advantages, ADSL faces some technical constraints. Range is pretty limited--in fact, the higher the data rate, the closer the subscriber and central office must be. For instance, a 9-Mbit/s link requires them to be within 9,000 feet of each other. (In contrast, the maximum distance for T1 lines is 5,000 feet, and for ISDN 18,000 feet.) To reach subscribers who aren't within this range, operators will have to install upgrades or repeaters. Still, carriers will have less trouble rolling out ADSL than they will cable modems. ADSL involves a point-to-point connection, which means it can be brought to one customer at a time. Cable operators, on the other hand, have to upgrade the entire delivery system for every neighborhood they target. Several phone companies are trialing ADSL now and are expected to launch commercial service next year. Last spring, GTE Corp. (Stamford, Conn.) conducted the first ADSL Internet access trial, in Dallas and Irving, Texas. Bell Atlantic Corp. is using ADSL in interactive TV trials with 2,000 customers in Virginia. US West Communications Group (Denver) is conducting a trial of ADSL data service with hundreds of customers in four cities. To upgrade to ADSL, telecom operators need to install ADSL equipment at both ends of the loop connecting the subscriber and the central offices. A potential drawback for customers, however, is that equipment from different vendors is likely to be incompatible. Cost also could be a problem: Estimates put the price of ADSL modems at about $2,000 each. As volume increases, prices should come down--particularly if industry standard chip sets become available. In addition, commercial implementation is still several years away. As it stands now, RBOCs' plants and equipment may be too inadequate to stop competitive access providers from providing ADSL first.